


All The Scattered Pieces

by kopperblaze



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 09:58:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3115841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kopperblaze/pseuds/kopperblaze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Random ficlets and prompt fills. </p><p>1 - (modern AU) Uncle Thorin takes Fili and Kili to the zoo. <br/>2 - Fili thinks Kili will leave him for Tauriel. Kili explains some things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

* * *

  
“And lions?”   
  
“Yes.”  
  
“And elephants?”  
  
“Maybe.”   
  
“And kittens?”   
  
“No Kili, there won’t be kittens at the zoo,” Thorin sighs, only refraining from pinching the bridge of his nose because he’s got a nephew holding onto each.   
  
“Why?” It’s Kili’s favourite word and he always tilts his head to the side and makes his eyes extra wide when he uses it to inquire about yet another interesting thing in this world. It stopped being cute when he asked Thorin why the woman in the TV commercial was moaning like that if she wasn’t in pain.   
  
“Because kittens are not…very zoo-appropriate,” Thorin replies, struggling for an explanation. He is saved from another inquisitive “why” by the sound of the tube approaching and both his nephews tugging on his hands as they lean forward in anticipation.   
  
It’s early on Saturday morning so the carriage is relatively empty. Thorin sits down and lifts Kili onto his knee while Fili climbs into the seat next to him.   
  
“Monkeys?” Kili asks, clearly not done with the list of animals he wants to see.   
  
“Yes.”   
  
“Pengiens?”   
  
“Penguins,” Fili corrects from Thorin’s other side, resting his head against Thorin’s shoulder.   
  
“Pengiens,” Kili repeats indignantly, like Fili is the one who’s got it wrong.   
  
“Yes, there will be penguins.” The last thing Thorin needs is his nephews starting a squabble on the tube.   
  
“Unca I’m thirsty.” Kili looks up at him with wide eyes.   
  
“Me too!”  
  
Thorin gracefully doesn’t point out that they left home <em>ten</em> minutes ago and they had orange juice with breakfast. Instead he takes out two juice boxes from Fili’s ‘How to tame your dragon’ backpack. He hands one to Fili before pushing the straw into the second and handing it to Kili, who inhales his juice like his life depends on it. Thorin accepts that the first thing they’ll do upon reaching the zoo is looking for a bathroom.   
  
~  
  
Thirty minutes later they’ve purchased their tickets for the zoo, visited the bathroom, and Kili has questioned the lady at admission about the absence of kittens while Thorin treated himself to a large triple shot cappuccino.   
  
“I wanna go see the lions first!”  
  
“No, pengiens!”   
  
“How about we just follow the path? That way we will see all the animals,” Thorin suggests hopefully. Both his nephews consider it for a moment before they nod. Three steps later Fili tugs on Thorin’s hand, looking up at him with earnest, blue eyes.   
  
“We learnt a song about the zoo at school. Do you wanna hear it?”   
  
It’s rare for Fili to make himself the centre of attention. He keeps to himself too much, never wanting to trouble anyone.   
  
“Of course, I’d love to Fili.”   
  
He’s barely opened his mouth to sing though when Kili pulls on Thorin’s other hand. “Unca unca unca! Look!”   
  
Thorin turns to look at a squirrel in a tree, which in turn has Fili snap his mouth shut.   
  
“You’re not listening to me!” His bottom lip trembles dangerously. Kili is still talking on far too loud a voice. pulling forcefully on Thorin’s hand to get his attention. For a second Thorin considers sitting down right there on the ground and starting to cry himself.   
  
“Kili, be quiet. Your brother wants to sing something for us.”   
  
It shuts Kili up for a grand total of five seconds. “I sing too!”   
  
Thorin groans and kneels down, pulling a sniffling Fili against his side. “I’m sorry, Fili. I promise I was listening.”   
  
“No you were not,” Fili whispers wetly against Thorin’s neck. Where Kili easily shrugs things off, laughing again a second after crying, Fili has always taken things more to heart. He is impossibly considerate for his age, worrying more for his mother and making her happy than a boy his age should.    
  
“You’re right, Kili was distracting me and we’re both sorry for that. Aren’t we, Kili?” Thorin looks pointedly at Kili and pulls him closer. Distracted from watching the squirrels, Kili is suddenly aware of his brother’s distress and shuffles closer, clumsily wrapping his arms around Fili.   
  
“Sowwy Fee.”   
  
“Will you please sing the song for us now? We really want to hear it,” Thorin says encouragingly. Fili sniffles but eventually pulls back, rubbing his eyes. He clears his throat and haltingly starts to sing, voice quiet and thin at first, but gradually getting more confident when Kili claps his hands.   
  
“Five little monkeys swinging in a tree, teasing Mister Crocodile…”  
  
Thorin’s knees are starting to ache but he keeps up a smile even as he wishes the song would be over already. How many verses can a six year old remember anyway?   
  
As it turns out - many. Eventually Fili finishes the song though and Kili claps with even more enthusiasm while Thorin smiles and ruffles Fili’s hair. “That was a very nice song, Fili.”   
  
He stands back up with a groan, sure he can hear his bones cracking.   
  
“Now, shall we move on and see the monkeys?”   
  
~  
  
There is one incident where Thorin has to make Kili spit out the leaves he was trying to eat (possibly in imitation of the zebras), but for most of the day the boys are well-behaved, oh-ing and ah-ing over the animals and discussing just how good they’ll have to be so that Father Christmas will bring them a pet lion.   
  
At the gift shop Fili keeps to his side, shuffling his feet and saying he has enough toys already, while Kili darts around the room and ends up picking a giant stuffed panda that’s almost bigger than he is.   
  
“Kili, no. We said one small thing each,” Thorin sighs, watching with a shake of his head as Kili purses his lips and turns around, waddling to put the giant panda back. “How about a lion, Fili? Look there’s one over there.”   
  
Fili worries his bottom lip between his teeth, considering.   
  
“Well. I don’t have a lion at home,” he says eventually, blinking up at Thorin.   
  
“Exactly,” Thorin smiles encouragingly. “You can get it if you want. Or something else. Have a look around.”   
  
While Fili walks around the shop and looks at everything with careful consideration, Kili runs back over to Thorin with three stuffed animals in his arms.   
  
“This, maybe?” he asks with an angelic smile.   
  
“No, Kili.” Thorin fights to keep up a stoic facade under his nephew’s begging eyes. “One.”   
  
Kili frowns and puts away the giraffe, holding the monkey and wolf up for Thorin to see.   
  
“One,” Thorin repeats, crossing his arms. Kili’s bottom lip begins to wobble.   
  
“I don’t need one, uncle,” Fili says, even though he was in the process of comparing two lions a second earlier. “Then Kili can get two.”   
  
“Absolutely not,” Thorin shakes his head.   
  
Kili sits down and starts crying while Fili shuffles his feet and looks at his brother in concern.   
  
“Kili,” Thorin is uncomfortably aware of the girl behind the till watching them. “Either you pick one toy and stop crying, or you’re not going to get anything.”   
  
As if trying to gauge if he is serious Kili looks up at him with wet eyes, still hiccuping. Thorin fights to keep a straight face. They stare at each other for a few seconds before Kili sniffles and holds up the monkey.   
  
“Good choice.” Thorin takes the toy and looks over to Fili expectantly, who takes another three minutes to pick out the perfect lion.   
  
~  
  
On the way home the tube is crowded, the Saturday afternoon rush in full swing. Thorin carries Kili because he doesn’t trust his small nephew to not dart away and disappear into the crowd (which has happened to Dis and Thorin several times. They’ve stopped blaming themselves for bad parenting after the third time), while Fili holds onto his leather jacket. Thorin puts his hand atop of Fili’s head, smiling when the boy leans into his side and yawns widely. Kili happily demonstrates the velcro on the monkey’s hands that make them stick together. He strokes one velcro-rough monkey hand over Thorin’s beard and giggles before putting the monkey’s hands together and pulling them over his head.   
  
The tube arrives and people push inside, Thorin inwardly cursing all the tourists not familiar with the London rules of the underground. He holds onto one of the poles while Fili wraps his arms around his leg. Rush hour is bad enough in the mornings when Thorin’s being squashed between too many bodies, too high a percentage of them unaware of the invention of the deodorant, but it’s worse with two children. Thorin elbows a woman in the back without guilt when she pushes Fili. He ignores her glare and shifts Fili so he can hold onto the pole himself and is shielded by Thorin.   
  
“We go-ed to the zoo!” Kili proclaims loudly all of a sudden, beaming and showing his monkey to the group of tourists clustered around them. Of course they all indulge him and smile, giving Kili all the encouragement he needs.   
  
“There was lions! And monkey and wolves and pengiens and squiwwels and…” he continues his list to the great amusement to all around them, the tourists cooing and asking him questions in broken English.   
  
“Kili, not so loud,” Thorin mumbles, but it’s useless. Kili is in his element, playing entertainer for the entire tube carriage. Closing his eyes Thorin mentally counts the number of stops until home.   
  
~  
  
“I think somebody’s ready for a nap,” Dis laughs when they enter the kitchen. Fili and Kili run to her to show her their new toys and tell her about all the things they saw at the zoo, while Thorin nods and takes of his jacket.   
  
“Yeah,” he mumbles, rubbing his eyes. He’s so ready for a nap. Shuffling into the living room he flops down on the couch with a groan and turns on the telly. He’s missed half of the game already, so it doesn’t matter that his eyes fall closed five minutes later. He briefly wakes up a little while later when something furry is pressed to his cheek and a small body settles against his chest.   
  
“Me and monkey too,” Kili states in the child version of a whisper and scrambles up onto the couch, pressing his hands into Thorin’s stomach. Groaning and shifting around Thorin rearranges himself without opening his eyes until both his nephews are settled comfortably as well, their stuffed toys inexplicably jammed under his chin. Dis is probably going to take photos and send them to Dwalin, who’ll laugh at him all day tomorrow, but Thorin finds that he really doesn’t care.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Promptfill for "I would love to see a prompt of Fili/Kili starting the journey to reclaim Erebor but Kili becoming mesmerised with Tauriel as he has never seen an elf before, and then hurt!Fili followed by a reassuring!Kili, if at all possible please?! Angsty I know but I just can’t get enough of hurt/angsty!Fili!”

* * *

 

“I saw a firemoon once.”   
  
Fili snorts and kicks a pebble against the wall of his cell. It’s not satisfying at all and for a childish moment he wonders if he should look for a bigger rock and throw it at the she-elf. Deciding that such petty behaviour is unfit for a prince of the line of Durin, Fili settles into a sulk instead.   
  
“He’ll come ‘round, don’t worry.”   
  
Glancing over at Dwalin leaning against the bars of the cell across from him, Fili huffs. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”   
  
The warrior rolls his eyes. Before he can say anything else Fili turns his back. He feels a little bad about cutting the other dwarf off so abruptly, but right now Fili really doesn’t want any of Dwalin’s advice, much less his pity. He is well aware of his own stupidity, knows that he should’ve seen it coming. He doesn’t want comfort that plainly speaks of ‘I told you so, you poor sod.’   
  
Pulling his legs up to his chest Fili rests his chin on his knees, staring at the wall and returning to his sulking. He can still hear Kili and the she-elf whispering to each other. Deep down he expected it, yet it hurts more than he could have anticipated. He used to think heartache was one of these dramatic words people used, not that it was an actual, physical ache, like his heart has suddenly taken ill.   
  
At least here in his cell he is alone to deal with it and put himself back together without witnesses.   
  
~  
  
While time seems to stand still in Thranduil’s dungeons it speeds up impossibly when they escape. Seemingly within the blink of an eye they float down the river in barrels, sneak into Laketown, make a deal with the Master and prepare to set off again. Fili used the days of imprisonment to put a facade in place, smoothing the rough edges and making sure it fits him perfectly, but Fili is still apprehensive that it’s too fragile and will crack under Kili’s scrutiny. In a cruel twist of fate Kili’s injured leg keeps him subdued, making it easier for Fili to flee his presence once he’s made sure that Oin is giving the arrow wound his full attention.   
  
Thorin keeps him close during that night’s celebration, whispering in his ear about politics and plans that Fili has no mind for right now. He should be proud that his uncle places such trust in him and presents him as his heir and advisor, he should be happy that in the morrow he will finally step into the home of his ancestors, claiming his legacy, but Fili feels hollow, like he’s been carved out with a spoon and his insides thrown away.   
  
Across the room Kili looks clammy and pale. Fili forces himself to turn away. He already allowed his mask to slip when they escaped, screaming for Kili and scrambling to get to him the moment they reached the shore. He has to stop clinging to his brother like that because even though the she-elf is far away from them now, there will be others. It would be selfish of Fili to stand in Kili’s way.   
  
~  
  
The armour is heavy and too big, making Fili feel like a child playing dress up. Next to him Kili is sagging under its weight and the niggling worry in Fili’s mind pushes for attention. A normal arrow wound shouldn’t have his brother in such a state. Yet Kili pushes on, determined to be there when they first set foot into Erebor. Fili watches as his face falls when their uncle orders him to stay behind.   
  
Before he can rationalise it he steps out of the boat, supporting Kili when it looks like his legs are about to give out. It doesn’t matter that his brother unknowingly shattered his heart, affirming Fili’s fear that once they are out of Ered Luin, where there’s nothing but struggle and old people, Kili will find somebody more interesting, somebody altogether better than Fili. It doesn’t matter, because Fili can’t change his heart and his place will always be by his brother’s side.   
  
Eventually they find shelter again in the Bowman’s home, but nothing Oin does relieves Kili’s pain. Fili is left to watch his brother fading before his eyes. With each whimper passing Kili’s lips guilt crushes him anew because Fili should have known. He should’ve seen and he should’ve done something earlier. It’s because of his own pettiness that Kili now lies dying. He’s not giving himself away to illusions about that. Not when his brother’s face is so pale and Oin so quiet, having stopped his mutterings hours ago in favour of grim determination that fades together with the light of the candles as they wait for Bofur’s return.   
  
There’re strange thumping sounds on the ceiling and Fili looks up, wondering if it’s normal. For all he knows large cats could be roaming Laketown at night.  
  
Sigrid’s scream pierces the air. Fili flies into action on instinct, throwing himself at one of the orcs with the abandon of a dwarf who has nothing left to lose. His brother is on the doorstep of the Maker’s Halls, and even if he survives all that’s left for Fili is life as a bystander out in the cold. In a moment of mania Fili thinks that tonight wouldn’t be such a bad time to die.   
  
The fight is a blur, his body reacting before his mind has a chance of catching up. There’s a flash of red between the black bodies and Fili freezes, thinking for a moment that he is caught up in a nightmare. But the pain in his arm is real as one of the orcs grabs him from behind. Fili whirls around and sticks a butter knife in the creatures throat. Not his weapon of choice, but effective still when handled with enough force. Ignoring the elves Fili focuses on shielding the Bowman’s children and his brother, though Kili ruins his efforts as he throws himself at an orc attacking the she-elf. He falls to the floor with a scream that echoes in Fili’s mind.   
  
The floor is littered with corpses and Fili turns, scanning the room. The orcs are gone and the she-elf stands in the doorway, looking like she’s about to leave.  Fili stoically ignores her and helps the others lift Kili up on the table since an orc corpse lies sprawled over the bed, drenching the sheets in black blood.   
  
Kili’s eyes flicker restlessly, then settle on something that makes the corners of his lips twitch into a smile. The she-elf carries the Athelas Bofur brought and for a moment her eyes meet Fili’s. He’s not sure what he sees in the ancient depths and he if he’s honest he doesn’t care. If she saves Kili’s life then so be it, at least she’ll have proven herself worthy of him. Despite his own heartache Fili won’t begrudge his brother happiness. He would see him live, even if he has to pay with his own soul.   
  
Fili holds his Kili down, the way his brother looks at the she-elf making all words of reassurance stick in Fili’s throat. He looks down and studies the walnuts that have spilt over the table, feeling uncomfortably like an impostor in an intimate moment he is not supposed to share. Kili twitches under his hands before suddenly settling down, his body, previously taught as a bowstring, relaxing. Whatever magic she has worked has drawn the poison from Kili and Fili barely keeps from cradling his brother in his arms. Instead he lets go and steps back, retreating outside when Kili reaches for the elf’s hand. He’s not needed anymore.   
  
~  
  
“Are you leaving then?” Fili takes his pipe from his mouth and looks up at the she-e…maybe it is time he started thinking of her by her name. Sitting on the ground and looking up at her he feels even smaller, even more insignificant.   
  
His voice makes her flinch and she looks down at him with an unreadable expression. “Yes. I’m needed elsewhere.”   
  
Fili nods and gets to his feet, pocketing his pipe. “I would thank you. For saving my brother’s life.” Heartbroken and lost he may be, but Fili is still a prince remembering his manners and a brother willing to smile at the woman who’s stolen what is dearest to him for his brother’s happiness.  
  
“Think nothing of it,” Tauriel shakes her head and offers a tired smile of her own. “I would not see such cheerful life extinguished before its time.”   
  
Fili nods, unsure what else there is to say. The silence stretches between them, pressing in like water from all sides.   
  
“He’s been asking for you,” she smiles in a secretive way, like she knows something Fili doesn’t. It leaves a sour taste on his tongue.   
  
“Go and be with him.” Tauriel bows to him. “I hope to see you again under better circumstances.”   
  
Fili is left to stare after her as she jumps over the balustrade and disappears into the night.   
  
~  
  
Bard’s children are attempting to clean up their home, Bofur and Oin lending a hand in disposing of the orc corpses. Kili sits in a chair in the corner of the room with his leg elevated on a wooden box. Fili’s mouth goes dry as their eyes meet and he quickly looks away. There is no way for him to avoid Kili any longer though, so he carefully picks his way across the floor until Kili’s legs come into view.   
  
“Where were you?” Kili’s tone is accusing and Fili’s jaw hardens.   
  
“Outside. Thought I should give you some private time with…her.” Thorin would be proud knowing that Fili has finally mastered the art of putting all his distaste into a simple word and making it sound like the ugliest curse in black speech.   
  
“What?”   
  
Of course Kili would make it difficult. Fili huffs and crosses his arms in front of his chest, still refusing to look up.   
  
“Are you…jealous?” Kili sounds positively gleeful and Fili wishes he could set the floorboards on fire with his glare.   
  
“No.”   
  
“Yes you are!” Kili sounds far too amused and Fili’s fingers itch to beat the gloating grin from Kili’s face. He reminds himself that his brother is injured and digs his fingertips into his forearms instead.   
  
Taking a slow breath he tells himself that he’s not going to stand here and have his feelings trampled. Squaring his shoulders and raising his chin Fili draws himself up, staring down at Kili with hard eyes. Watching their uncle in council meetings all these years has paid off after all.   
  
“And why would I be jealous, dear brother?” Fili asks, his voice so sweet the words seem to rot his teeth. “Because you openly flirt with the first maiden to pay you a second’s attention in front of me? No really, I enjoyed that tremendously. T’was was a wonderful little speech you made as well, starlight and all that. You should consider asking Thorin to make you Erebor’s new balladeer with your newly found poetical skills.” Fili shakes his head, thinking that Kili looks rather dumb with his mouth hanging open like that. “No, brother. I’m not jealous because I clearly never had any claim to your heart, so I have no right to jealousy.”   
  
He turns to walk away but Kili snatches his hand, holding tight and pulling him back.   
  
“Fili, no.” His grip tightens to the point where Fili is sure he’ll carry the bruises tomorrow.   
  
“I had not…I had not considered to see it from your perspective and I would go down on my knees to beg your forgiveness but I rather think that is not a good idea right now.”   
  
Fili grunts because as annoyed as he is, he still wouldn’t want to hinder Kili’s healing.   
  
“I will not lie and say I don’t feel drawn to Tauriel.”   
  
Closing his eyes Fili prays for endurance.   
  
“She’s beautiful and I’m a dwarf. It is not in my nature to ignore what entices me. And she is different to the old geezers in Ered Luin. She knows tales I’ve never heard before,” Kili’s voice picks up in excitement before falling again. “Maybe for a second I misunderstood my curiosity for infatuation and I will beg your forgiveness for that as long as we life. But I stood at death’s door and I knew that my heart could only ever be true to you. You <em>must</em> believe me, Fili.”   
  
Fili’s blood rushes through his body and his heart feels rather like a rabbit drumming its foot in his chest. He wants to believe Kili, he so desperately wants to, but he’s afraid to hope again.   
  
“You took her hand.” <em>Not mine.</em>  
  
“Have you ever been healed by an elf?” Kili tugs on his hand and Fili stumbles a step back. “No? Thought so. It’s unreal, Fili, completely unreal. Like she was suddenly there in my hazy dreams, taking my hand and pulling me back from the darkness consuming me. I needed…I needed to know that it was real, I needed to hold onto something real.”   
  
Fili frowns, still not sure what to make of all of this. He’s so tired all of a sudden, tired and drained, and he wishes he could wind back time to their last morning in Ered Luin, whispering in the safety of their bed, pressing promises into skin with chapped lips.   
  
“You can accept it or not, but it’s true.” Kili pulls himself up to standing and pushes Fili to turn around. Not expecting such sudden movement, nor his brother’s weight crashing into him, Fili stumbles backwards and falls to the floor, Kili landing atop of him and squeezing all the air out of his lungs.   
  
“Do you believe me?”   
  
Fili looks up into Kili’s eyes, meeting them for more than a few seconds for the first time in days. They still hold a slight feverish sheen, red-rimmed and tired looking. But they’re also unguarded and Fili is easily able to read his brother’s feelings after a lifetime of studying his emotions. There’s no falseness in Kili’s expression, none of the twitches that accompany him bending the truth. All Fili can find is desperation and hope and something else that makes his stomach swoop.   
  
When he gives a curt nod Kili’s lips stretch into a grin before he closes the distance between them, claiming Fili’s lips in a possessive kiss.   
  
“What are the dwarves doing?” Tilda’s high-pitched voice breaks through the rushing of blood in Fili’s ears and the relieved dizziness making him light-headed.   
  
“They’re making a baby.”   
  
“Bain!”   
  
There’s a painful squeak and when Fili turns his head to the side he finds Sigrid pulling Bain’s ear while Bofur holds his hands over Tilda’s eyes.   
  
“I’m tellin’ ya once we reclaim Erebor I’ll be having a talk with Thorin, see about having my share of the treasure expanded. ’s only fair, considering how his heirs have traumatised me on this quest time and time again.”   
  
Kili pulls back and laughs, the sound reverberating through Fili’s chest.   
  
“Don’t lie, Bofur, you love to watch!”  
  
Wrapping his arms tightly around his brother Fili closes his eyes again, feeling like things might be all right after all for the first time in weeks. 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [Tumblr](http://kopperblaze.tumblr.com) for fic previews, prompt fills and other ficlets :)


End file.
